Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis Biography

Co-heads of Research in Motion

Born Jim L. Balsillie, February 3, 1961, in Seaforth, Ontario, Canada; son
of Raymond (an electronics technician) and Laurel Balsillie; married
Heidi; children: two. Born Michael Lazaridis, March 14, 1960, in Istanbul,
Turkey; son of Nick (a salesman and factory worker) and Dorothy (a
seamstress) Lazaridis; married Celia; children: one son, one daughter.
Education:
Balsillie: Graduated from the University of Toronto, 1984; Harvard School
of Business, M.B.A., 1989; Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario,
Ph.D. Lazaridis: Attended the University of Waterloo.

Career

Balsillie: Worked for the Entrepreneur Services Group at Clarkson Gordon,
1984-87; Sutherland and Schultz, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, vice
president of finance, then executive vice president and chief financial
officer, 1989-92; joined RIM, 1992; donated funds to found the Centre for
International Governance Innovation, 2002. Lazaridis: Won contract to
create project for GM, 1984; founded Research in Motion, Ltd. (RIM), 1984;
created Digi-Sync Film KeyKode reader, c. 1992; created the Interactive
Pager, 1996; wrote "white paper" for concept behind the
BlackBerry, 1997; launched the BlackBerry to marketplace, 1999; used
wealth to fund the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Canada,
2000; funded the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of
Waterloo; added new features to BlackBerry, 2001, 2002.

Awards:
Lazaridis: Emmy Award for the development of a high-speed barcode reader
for film, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, 1994; Academy Award for
the development of a high-speed bar-code reader for film, Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 1998; Canadian-American Business
Achievement Award, 1999; honorary Doctor of Engineering degree, University
of Waterloo, 2000; Visionary Award, Office for Partnerships for Advanced
Skills, 2001; Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce Community
Leader of the Year Award, 2001; Canada's Nation Builder of the
Year, readers of
Globe and Mail
, 2002. Both: Ontario High Technology Entrepreneur Award, c. 1997;
Canadians of the Year, Canadian Club, 2006.

Sidelights

As the heads of Research in Motion (RIM), Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis
are best known for bringing the innovative BlackBerry wireless device to
the market. Balsillie serves as RIM's chairman and co-chief
executive officer, primarily handling the business side of the company.
Lazaridis, the founder of RIM, focuses on product development and research
and development, and is the company's visionary. Though RIM faced
some difficult legal challenges regarding patents and the BlackBerry
in the United States, the success of that device made them both extremely
rich and their company quite successful. The pair used their wealth for
philanthropic endeavors in their native Canada.

Lazaridis was born in 1960 in Istanbul, Turkey, into a Greek family. He is
the son of Nick and Dorothy Lazaridis. The family left Turkey when
Lazaridis was quite young. After living for a short time in West Germany,
the family moved to Canada in 1966. They came on a ship to Montreal, and
eventually settled in Windsor, Ontario. His father, who had worked as a
clothing salesman in Turkey, found employment at a local Chrysler
automotive factory. His mother worked as a seamstress.

Lazaridis was an intelligent child and greatly enjoyed school, especially
reading and science. The gift of an electric train led to the growth of
his interest in science and as he got older, he built rockets and radios,
and did chemistry experiments. By high school, Lazaridis enjoyed both shop
and academic classes. With a friend, Doug Fregin, he won the Windsor
science fair. The pair created a solar-powered water heater. During the
summers, he did work in his school's electronics lab, counting his
teacher, John Micsinszki, as an early mentor. Micsinszki inspired
Lazaridis' business, once telling his student that whoever puts
together wireless and computer technology will be important.

After graduation, Lazaridis entered the University of Waterloo in Ontario,
where he studied electrical engineering. He paid for his first year of
school with the profits he earned from an improved buzzer system he
created for his high school. Though Lazaridis took school seriously, he
left a month before graduation in 1984. He had a contract with General
Motors (GM) lined up that was worth $600, 000, and could not go to school
and complete the project at the same time. His parents gave him the money
to start a company so he could fulfill the contract. With his childhood
friend Fregin, Lazaridis founded RIM. The pair completed the project for
GM, which involved creating a display system for LED signs at General
Motors factories which could scroll messages.

In 1987, RIM landed a contract that changed the course of their company.
Rogers Cantel Mobile Communications hired RIM to look at the possibilities
of wireless digital networks. This contract led to the company designing
wireless local area networks. By the early 1990s, Lazaridis realized that
he needed to find someone to handle the business side of RIM because he
knew engineering was his specialty. That is when Jim Balsillie stepped in
to run RIM.

Balsillie was born in 1961 in Seaforth, Ontario, Canada, the son of
Raymond and Laurel Balsillie. His father worked as an electronics
technician for Ontario Hydro. From an early age, Balsillie was interested
in business as well as athletics. By the time he was a teenager, he held
numerous summer jobs such as camp manager, trailer park maintenance man,
and manager of a painting company which hired students. During winters, he
worked at a ski hill. He also held a number of paper routes.

Scholarships allowed Balsillie to enter the University of Toronto's
Trinity College, where he studied commerce. He graduated in 1984, and
spent the next three years working at Clarkson Gordon for their
Entrepreneur Services Group. Balsillie then entered Harvard's
business school in 1987. While a student, he held several jobs on campus,
including editor of the student handbook. Balsillie graduated in 1989 with
his M.B.A., and later earned his Ph.D. from Wilfrid Laurier University.

When Balsillie completed his M.B.A., he chose to take a job at Sutherland
and Schultz in Kitchener, Ontario, though he could have had a
higher-paying, higher-profile job on Wall Street. Sutherland and Schultz
was a small technology company that created a ground-breaking product
which allowed computers to be linked. Balsillie chose to work there so he
could learn everything abut running a company. He was originally named the
vice president of finance, before being promoted to executive vice
president and chief financial officer. Balsillie spent three years
learning much about business, including how to deal with a patent suit
when Sutherland and Schultz took on Rockwell International Corp.

Balsillie's job at Sutherland and Schultz ended when the company
was sold and he was replaced. Balsillie had previously met Lazaridis when
the latter did some contract work for Sutherland and Schultz. Balsillie
joined RIM in 1992, and believed in Lazaridis' vision, even though
RIM was lacking in funds. Balsillie put up much of his own money and even
mortgaged his home. They first worked in a small office with just one
employee, Mike Barnstijn.

At RIM, Lazaridis and Balsillie shared duties. Lazaridis focused on the
creative side: research and development, product strategy, and
manufacturing. Balsillie focused on finance, the development of the
business, and the strategy of the company. As Balsillie told Erin
Anderssen of the
Globe and the Mail
, "My job is to get the money. Mike's job is to spend
it."

By the early 1990s, Lazaridis was already working on his idea to bring
together the technology of pagers and computers to make a device for
exchanging
e-mails over a wireless network. He decided to use Internet standards,
which later helped with his device's popularity. He also developed
other wireless products like interactive pagers, wireless modems for
laptop computers, and wireless terminals for credit card and debit card
purchases.

Lazaridis also created other significant devices for RIM's clients.
In the early 1990s, under a contract RIM won from the National Film Board
of Canada, he worked on technology that proved to be important in film,
the DigiSync Film KeyKode reader. This piece of equipment automated the
process of putting together film negatives. Bar codes were printed on the
film's edges, and Lazaridis' product was a high speed bar
code reader. The device cut down dramatically on the time it took for a
film editor to do the work, and became used on a widespread basis in the
film industry. His creation of the DigiSync Film KeyKode reader earned
Lazaridis an Emmy Award and an Academy Award. Though not a particularly
financially lucrative invention, the reader brought prestige to RIM and
put the company in the news.

By 1996, Lazaridis had created a predecessor to the BlackBerry, the rather
large Interactive Pager. A year later, the same year that RIM went public,
he put down the idea for the BlackBerry itself. One night, working in his
basement, Lazaridis typed up a "white paper" (a document
espousing the benefits of particular technologies and products) entitled
"Success Lies in Paradox" and e-mailed it to his office. In
the paper, he explored the idea that a small keyboard could be just as
efficient as a large one. He saw that thumbs could be used to type on a
tiny keyboard. Lazaridis then created a handheld device which could
produce and send e-mail simply on a small keyboard and securely over a
wireless network. The device would always been on. It also had an address
book, memo pad, and calculator. Originally, the BlackBerry was used by
RIM's employees as the company's engineers figured out how
to keep the amount of power the device needed on the small side while
ensuring a large capacity.

The original BlackBerry was launched in 1999, and was an instant hit with
corporations who could now reach their employees anywhere. Stockbrokers
and celebrities were early fans of the device. Lazaridis and RIM continued
to improve the BlackBerry over the years. By 2001, it could also be used
as a cellular telephone and had voice capabilities. A year later, the
BlackBerry had hands-free capabilities as well. Such improvements only
added to its popularity. RIM sold BlackBerries to corporate clients and
often created custom packages for software, servers, and airtime. Within a
few years, BlackBerries were being used in many countries around the
world.

The success of the BlackBerry made Balsillie and Lazaridis rich men. They
used their wealth for a number of philanthropic causes. Lazaridis donated
at least $100 million for programs to encourage educational research in
the Waterloo, Ontario, region. In 2000, he used some of the wealth he
accumulated to found the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics,
which focused on cutting-edge scientific research in experimental physics.
Lazaridis wanted to make it the largest such physics institution in the
world. He loved physics and was intrigued by its possibilities. A
physicist at the institute, Ray Laflamme, told Erin Anderssen of the
Globe and Mail
, "His curiosity is beyond bounds. He wants to know the little
details of how things work and the big pictures of where things are going.
And he wants to connect the dots in between."

Lazaridis also funded the Institute for Quantum Computing at the
University of Waterloo. At both the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical
Physics and the Institute for Quantum Computing, he wanted to contribute
to future technical innovations. To support such research, Lazaridis
wanted to get the best professors and researchers at both places. Michele
Mosca, the deputy director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, told
Kevin McLaughlin of CRN, "What you quickly realize about
Mike's philanthropic efforts is that he's trying to give
back to the research community because he realizes that much of
RIM's success has been built on the scientific discoveries of 50 to
100 years ago."

Balsillie also used his wealth from RIM to support research. In 2002, he
donated $17 to $20 million to found the Centre for International
Governance Innovation. This is a research institute which seeks to affect
the structure of international governance, particularly economic and
financial institutions. His interest in international affairs and public
policy also extended to hosting international conferences like one on
United Nations reform. Balsillie also founded a website, the International
Governance Leadership Organizations Online, for public policy groups to
discuss their research.

BlackBerries continued to make both men wealthy in the early 2000s. By
2005, there were more than three million BlackBerry users and the company
had a market value of $14.3 billion. Yet RIM was facing legal difficulties
that had the potential to affect its long-term viability. In 2001, a
lawsuit was filed in the United States, where RIM did about 70 percent of
its business. RIM was sued by NTP, Inc., a patent-holding firm based in
Virginia, for patent infringement. RIM lost the initial rounds in court
and refused to settle with NTP for several years. By
May of 2005, RIM finally agreed to pay NTP $450 million to end the legal
battle. A month later, the deal fell apart and NTP threatened to enforce a
court order which would shut down all BlackBerries in the United States.
In March of 2006, an agreement was reached in which RIM paid NTP $612.5
million.

In addition to other potential lawsuits, RIM faced increasing competition
for BlackBerries and other products they produced, but Lazaridis and
Balsillie remained committed to their vision and continued innovation.
Mark Guibert, the vice president of corporate marketing for Rim told
McLaughlin of CRN, "Mike has a passion for excellence that is
driven by a deep understanding of science and engineering and grounded by
his own pragmatism. He wants RIM designing products for the real
world—it can't just sound good on paper." Balsillie
believed no matter what happened, RIM would keep going. He told David
Paddon of the
Toronto Sun
, "We carry on anyway. One way or another, our services are staying
running. One way or another, we're going to keep selling and
growing."